The Sickly Beauty Substitute Called It Quits

Li Ping had no idea his offenses had been exposed. Yuzhang Palace had been as usual lately. When he was brought into the hall, there wasn't a trace of fear on his face.

Meng Yuan saluted respectfully. "Noble monarch, he's here."

Li Ping broke away from the two bodyguards who were holding him and knelt down to salute. "Noble monarch."

"Do you know why I brought you here today?" Shen Yu's tone revealed neither happiness nor anger.

"Noble monarch, forgive me. This slave doesn't know." Li Ping kowtowed. "As far as this slave knows, I've never made any mistakes in the management of Yuzhang Palace. This slave has no idea why the noble monarch would arrest me."

"Is that so?" Shen Yu looked coldly at Li Ping, who was kneeling below him with no trace of remorse.

"Noble monarch, please tell this slave." Li Ping thought he hadn't done anything wrong. He didn't take Shen Yu's question seriously.

Shen Yu had never lost his temper in Yuzhang Palace, and he rarely intervened in the palace servants' business. Most of his attendants thought he was a kind person who was easy to talk to. Mu Xi, who served him closely, knew her young master's true character, but she wasn't the kind to go around talking nonsense.

Shen Yu didn't like to be closely waited on. Shang JunLin visited Yuzhang Palace often, and Meng Gonggong and Mu Xi were the ones who usually served in their room. Although Li Ping was the eunuch in charge of Yuzhang Palace, he hadn't spent much time with Shen Yu in person.

He knew so little about Shen Yu that he thought Shen Yu would be easy to fool.

"Meng Yuan, tell him why I arrested him, and tell all the attendants of Yuzhang Palace to come here and watch." Shen Yu supported his chin with one hand and looked on with no emotion whatsoever in his eyes.

Li Ping had finally begun to sense that something was wrong. When he looked around, he saw that almost all the people in Yuzhang Palace were here. If it was something small, they wouldn't go to such great lengths.

For some reason, Li Ping thought of a major event that happened when Shen Yu first entered the palace. Blood had flowed like a river, and everyone was scared senseless.

The only difference was that, back then, a group of servants was dealt with. Today, the only one on trial was himself.

He looked up at the young man sitting high in his formal seat. It was clearly the same face as always, but right now, the man possessed a murderous aura. In a trance, Li Ping had the feeling that it wasn't Noble Monarch Shen who sat above him, but His Majesty, who killed so decisively.

His heart sank little by little, and panic surged deep in his chest.

Meng Yuan's voice was the same as usual. He read out Li Ping's crimes one by one:

"On the eighth day of the twelfth month, the maid Xiao Cui was secretly taken to…"

As each charge was announced, Li Ping's face turned more and more ashen.

When he did those things in private, he thought it was a secret. The people he used were just some powerless palace maids who would never dare to say anything. After all, he was the eunuch in charge of Yuzhang Palace. He could do whatever he wanted.

Moreover, in order to curry favor with him, some palace people who knew what he liked sent women over on their own initiative. Li Ping never refused. When he was in a good mood, he promoted several people to work in Yuzhang Palace.

Shen Yu lowered his gaze, repressing the killing intent in his eyes. Fortunately, he found out about this early. Otherwise what would Yuzhang Palace become? How long would Li Ping indulge his selfish desires and oppress the other servants with his authority?

For a while, the hall was so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.

After Meng Yuan finished reading, Shen Yu stood up. He gazed down at Li Ping. "Li Ping, do you acknowledge your crimes?"

Obviously, Shen Yu was only dressed in regular clothes, but his aura was so formidable that no one dared to look directly at him. Li Ping threw himself to the floor and kowtowed again and again. "This slave knows I was wrong. It's because this slave got carried away…"

Everyone who worked in Yuzhang Palace had been summoned. Li Ping knew there was no way out.

He was wrong, outrageously wrong, to think Shen Yu wouldn't care what happened in the palace just because he didn't ask too many questions. He thought Shen Yu was a soft-hearted person who was easy to fool. There must be a reason the man was so spoiled by His Majesty. How could he be good for nothing but his face?

"Those who do wrong should be punished. Drag him out and cane him to death."

Ignoring Li Ping's cries for mercy, the two guards dragged him out.

Shen Yu gazed down at the others. "Today I'll make one thing clear. You're servants of Yuzhang Palace. If anyone troubles you outside, Yuzhang Palace will support you. But if you, like Li Ping, rely on Yuzhang Palace to commit crimes, the first one to deal with you will also be Yuzhang Palace!

"I called you here today for two reasons. The first is to tell you that from now on the eunuch in charge of Yuzhang Palace will be Meng Yuan. The second is to warn you. Don't let what happened to Li Ping today happen to you tomorrow!"

Without giving the palace servants a chance to respond, Shen Yu led them to the execution ground. Amid the rising smell of blood, he said coldly, "I don't want what happened today to ever happen again!"

It was the first time the servants of Yuzhang Palace had seen Shen Yu so angry. They suddenly realized that even if the noble monarch didn't say anything, that didn't mean he didn't know. Li Ping had done everything so quietly that even the people who worked with him didn't necessarily know about it, but the noble monarch found out everything in one fell swoop.

The sound of screams and sticks striking flesh mingled together, and the odor of blood lingered. Everyone instinctively held their breath.

No one noticed another small group of women watching the punishment. As they gazed at the execution ground they had no fear or dismay in their eyes, only satisfaction.

At that moment, the haze in their hearts was finally blown away by the wind. Given time, the pain they felt inside would surely decrease.

Mu Xi didn't look away. The last time she was faced with such a bloody scene, many more people were involved. Although she was happy about the outcome this time, her hands and legs felt a little weak.

On the other hand, Shen Yu never blinked.

When it was over, the palace attendants dispersed. The moment Shen Yu returned to his room, someone took him firmly into his arms.

"Ah Yu… Ah Yu…"

The man buried himself in Shen Yu's shoulder, and as the hot breath met his sensitive neck, the skin gradually flushed scarlet.

His waist was firmly shackled, and Shen Yu couldn't break free. He could only endure as the man nibbled and gnawed at him.

Spreading upwards from the neck.

After a long time, Shen Yu was finally released.

Shen Yu leaned against the man's arms for a while to catch his breath. "Your Majesty, what's the matter?"

"It's my first time seeing Shen Yu like this, and it was a little exciting." Shang JunLin hugged Shen Yu. In the depths of his eyes was a black mist that couldn't be dispersed.

"Your Majesty is more than a little excited." Shen Yu sensed the man's rising spirits and felt helpless. "Your Majesty should let go."

"Never." Shang JunLin tightened his arms to bring Shen Yu closer.

Just now, he sat behind the screen and watched Shen Yu's cold and commanding performance, and after a while his heart began to burn. He wanted to hold this man in his arms and shut him in his room so that no one else could see him.

He already felt the change in his body, but he didn't care. The moment Shen Yu stepped into the room, Shang JunLin couldn't help but obey his desire and hold this person in his arms.

Shen Yu was worried about stimulating Shang JunLin even more. He didn't dare to move but quietly let the man hold him for a while.

"Ah Yu is so imposing." After a long time, Shang JunLin took the initiative to let Shen Yu go.

Shen Yu raised his eyebrows and looked at him. "Then Your Majesty likes it?"

Because of what just happened, Shen Yu's eyes were glistening, and the corners of his eyes were slightly red. Shang JunLin felt even more happy.

"This emperor likes every aspect of the noble monarch very much."

Shen Yu didn't doubt what Shang JunLin said. After all, he personally felt it.

Shang JunLin led Shen Yu to the couch and sat down. "Recently, the King of Yue's people have been targeting the Zhenbei Marquis' residence."

"Because of Shen QingRan?" Shen Yu thought a little and remembered the last time that Shang JunLin brought misfortune to them. "Your Majesty moves so quickly."

"The Zhenbei Marquis was already angry at the King of Yue. By moving against him, the King of Yue's people have made things even harder for themselves."

The Zhenbei Marquis had a hereditary title. He paid just as much attention to face as other aristocratic families. When Shen QingRan embarrassed him, the marquis taught him a lesson behind closed doors. The King of Yue made an appointment with Shen QingRan and called over so many other women at the same time. Wasn't it a clear insult?

In the Zhenbei Marquis' opinion, his household was no worse than any other eminent family, and right now a person from their family was the noble monarch who was so favored by the emperor. Even if Shen QingRan was a shu son, he couldn't be bullied by outsiders.

Even before the marquis started making trouble for the King of Yue, the king's people began to meddle in his affairs. The Zhenbei Marquis couldn't swallow back his anger.

"Both sides have been cautious so far, and there haven't been any big moves. It's small-scale fighting." Shang JunLin described some of the tactics each side had used in secret.

"Now that the news has spread, how can the people behind the King of Yue sit still?" Shen Yu leaned back. "They've been so quiet."

Shang JunLin wasn't surprised. "If they weren't careful, they would have left more traces of activity over the years."

"Forget it. Let them take their time. We're in no hurry to deal with them."

Now that the Grand Commandant's case involved a prince, progress slowed down. Meanwhile, the day the examination results would be announced drew closer and closer.

Jiang HuaiQing continued to stay in touch with Shen Yu. Lately, whenever he wrote a letter, most of the content was about the exam scores.

Waiting for exam results always made people anxious. Even a person as calm as Hè ChengYu felt distracted.

The two people who couldn't calm down sat together and talked.

"I wonder where Lin Xiong and Yu Xiong are studying. We still don't even know their identities." Jiang HuaiQing scratched his face.

"You don't know, but you write to Young Master Yu every day?" Hè ChengYu gave him a faint look.

Jiang HuaiQing: "Isn't it just that he never got around to mentioning it? Young Master Yu and I hit it off right away. Aside from you, he's the only person I know in the capital."

Hè ChengYu: "Then you haven't guessed who they are?"

Jiang HuaiQing: "I tried to guess, but I found out later I was wrong. When I met them, their identities didn't matter. If there's fate between us, I'll find out eventually anyway. I think that Young Master Yu didn't tell me because something about it is inconvenient to say. He and Young Master Lin were forced to get married because of their families, and he might not have an easy time living with the Lin family. Fortunately, Young Master Lin is a good man and treats him wholeheartedly…."

"Pfft." Hè ChengYu almost sprayed tea from his mouth. "Why are you so worried about other people's family affairs?"

He really couldn't guess what Jiang HuaiQing would think when he found out who they truly were.

If everything went well, his suspicions would be confirmed after the palace examination.

Shang JunLin was the first to find out the results of the exam.

"Does Ah Yu want to know the scores ahead of time?" Shang JunLin finished changing into his formal court robes and walked over.

"Are they already out?" To tell the truth, Shen Yu really wanted to know. Jiang HuaiQing kept writing to him about it, which made Shen Yu feel nervous also.

Shang JunLin was so familiar with Shen Yu that he immediately saw the slight tension on his face. Smiling, he said, "Why are you nervous when you didn't even participate?"

Shen Yu shook his head a little. He couldn't say if he was anxious because of the results or something else.

When Shang JunLin saw his face like this for the first time, he felt an irresistible tickle inside. He drew closer, pressed the man over the low table, and leaned forward.

"Ah Yu, you lost."

A stone in Shen Yu's heart fell to the ground with a bang. He looked up at the man standing over him, surrounded by the man's powerful arms, enfolded in his cold aura. There was no escape.

"Ah Yu, it's time for you to keep your promise." Shang JunLin's eyes were deep and bottomless, as if they were concealing a fire that would burn down everything.

TL Notes:

carried away – 鬼迷心窍 – be possessed by ghosts; be obsessed with; be corrupted by; be under an obsession of; lost his mind

instinctively held their breath – 自觉在这一刻绷紧了心中的弦 – at this moment unconsciously felt the strings in their heart tighten

made things even harder for themselves – 撞到枪口上 – bumping into the mouth of the wooden warehouse – An idiom which means causing trouble by coincidence or because of your own actions

A stone in (Shen Yu's) heart fell to the ground – 心中的石头落地 – A common idiom which means to be relieved, to have no more worries, one's tension is released

Transliterated names, places, and titles—new in this chapter:

Xiao Cui – 小翠

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